Unyielding Assault
Translation by Tree Buffalo
Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water.
And yet none can surpass its hard and unyielding assault.
For this reason it is irreplaceable.
Because the weak outlasts the strong, and the soft outlasts the stiff.
Everyone in the world understands this, but no one can practice it.
This is why the wise person says:
Accept the state’s dishonor to be known as master of the vital sacrifice;
Accept the state’s misfortune to be known as leader of the whole world.
Because true words seem paradoxical.
Read some of the first English translations of Chapter 78 here.
